NORMAN, Okla. -- A trial date was set Monday for a former
Nebraska football player accused of assaulting a University of
Oklahoma spirit squad member before the Cornhuskers' game at
Oklahoma last season.
Darren DeLone will be tried April 25 on one count of aggravated
assault and battery, Judge Michael Hetherington Jr. decided in a
brief pre-trial hearing in Cleveland County District Court. DeLone,
who has pleaded innocent, could face up to five years in prison if
convicted on the charge. DeLone, 23, was not present at the
hearing.
Adam Merritt, a freshman member of the Ruf/Neks spirit group,
testified in February that DeLone -- a 6-foot-5, 315-pound former
offensive lineman -- slammed him into a brick wall at Memorial
Stadium prior to Nebraska's football game against Oklahoma on Nov.
13. Merritt, 19, said he temporarily lost consciousness, lost one
tooth and broke another in the collision.
DeLone's defense attorney, Garvin Isaacs, suggested that the
incident could have been accidental because the players were
practicing at a high speed on grass dampened by the rain.
Merritt testified that he and other Ruf/Neks were standing on
the field near where the Nebraska offensive linemen were
practicing. He said the Ruf/Neks, who accompany the Sooner
Schooner, always stand in the same area in the northeast corner of
the stadium.
A judge will be assigned to the trial on the day it begins.